Lawinenlagebericht

Blues

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Tue
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
3 · Erheblich
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 3 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist today across all elevations and aspects.  Rain on snow or wet heavy snow is likely today, which will add a significant amount of weight to the snowpack.  Conservative route and terrain selection are encouraged if you plan on traveling in the mountains.  

This forecast is sponsored by Winding Waters River Expeditions.  

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1–1.5

    I hate to say this, but with freezing levels going up to nearly 6,000' today rain is likely in the Blues.  Close to .75" of water is in the forecast and with high temperatures well above freezing, our chances don't look good.  If you observe roller balls, and pinwheels, or are sinking to your boot tops in wet heavy snow you need to look for low-angle terrain, avoid start zones and run-outs, and probably just go home.  

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1–2

    There is a lot of snow available for transport and moderate to strong winds will be building dense slabs of dangerous snow.  Expect wind slabs to grow in size rapidly today (unless there is enough rain to wet out the surface snow), and could break 1-2' in depth.  Avoidance is the best call, as the wind can load steep terrain above you, and a location you may deem safe will likely not be.  You don't really need to look for signs of wind-drifted snow, just take our word for it.  

Avalanche Discussion

As our former WAC ED Kip Rand used to say, "this is a good day to stay home and bake cookies."  Sometimes it's best to let mother nature do her thing, and not interfere when an epic storm cycle is taking place.  A good analogy I like to use is if you were lifting weights, and you kept incrementally increasing the weight you are lifting, you would be able to manage the load.  But if all of a sudden you made a sudden major increase in weight, you wouldn't be able to handle the additional load.  The snowpack is the same way when we experience rapid change (significant snowfall, moderate wind, rapid warmup) we need to let the snowpack do its thing.  

Wet Loose Avalanches:  With freezing levels going up to around 6,000' today, and warm daytime highs don't be surprised if you see some wet loose activity.  A wet loose avalanche starts out typically around rocks, trees or in very steep terrain >35 degrees.  A snowball starts moving downhill, collecting more wet snow and fanning out.  While a wet loose avalanche may not kill you, it can still boss you around.  

Cornices: We have been watching significant cornice growth over the past week, and these monsters will continue to grow.  You don't want to spend time climbing slopes with large cornices overhead.  When cornices break loose they can impact weak snow layers buried more deeply in the snowpack than the weight of a skier or rider.  Keep in mind, cornices connect to terrain features much further back than most folks realize.  You don't want to cross the line, and end up on the wrong side of an overhanging mass of snow.  

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